The entries are pouring in for the contest we are running with Trek Bicycles, which offers you the opportunity to win one of Roland Green's bikes. Click on the button at the top of your browser window to enter.

If you are going to be at the Toronto Bike Show on Saturday or Sunday this weekend, drop by the CC booth to see the bike, plus one of Roland's Rainbow Jerseys and one of his Tour de Langkawi Climber's Jerseys.

Quebec Announces High Performance Support ProgramCourtesy CCA

On February 11, the Government of Quebec announced the implementation of "Équipe Québec" (Team Quebec), a new program for the development of high performance sport that comes with an additional $6 M a year.

Équipe Québec is composed of four elements:

1. All "excellence" athletes (mostly carded athletes, including about 10 cyclists) will receive a yearly tax free $6,000 grant (in addition to a $2,000 to $4,000 annual tax credit, which has already been offered for the past two years);

2. The coach of each of these athletes will receive an annual grant of $20,000 in addition to his or her actual sources of income;

3. The members of Équipe Québec (about 300 to 500 eligible athletes and the 125 or so coaches working with them) will participate to sport promotion activities addressed to the youth of Quebec;

4. They will meet once a year in a forum to discuss their career and concerns.

In the same way as the Canadian Cycling Association's Athlete Development Model, Équipe Québec focuses on the participation of coaches and athletes to promote the values and the benefits of sport and physical activity among youth.

To be eligible to the Program Équipe Québec, an athlete must be a member of a Quebec sport federation and be recognised as an "excellence" athlete, live in Quebec, represent Quebec on the Canadian sport scene and regularly participate in international competitions.

As for coaches, they must be the permanent coach and main person in charge of an athlete member of Équipe Québec. He or she must also live in Quebec and be a member of a Quebec sport federation. Also, he or she must be a full time coach with a 3M NCCP level 3 certification (minimum).

The application forms for the Program will be sent to the concerned athletes and coaches in mid-April of 2003.

REDLANDS, Calif. (Feb. 28, 2003) - Sea Otter Classic and Redlands Bicycle Classic are combining their Elite Men's Road Stage races in April 2004 for a joint venture, the American Cycling Classic, presented by the two promoting organizations.

The new stage race, scheduled at the time of this release to kick off in Southern California on March 23, 2004, will travel through southern, central, and northern California, running in tandem with the Redlands Bicycle Classic en route to its finish at the Sea Otter Classic on April 3, 2004 at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey.

"Combining the Sea Otter and Redlands teams creates the most experienced, deepest pool of logistical race experience in America," explained Sea Otter Classic President and CEO Frank Yohannan. "Operationally, this creates the strongest team in the land for media and marketing reach. The net result will be an organization that is on the cutting edge of cycling in the US."

"This alliance is the perfect next step for both events and a big stride for cycling in the US," said Redlands Bicycle Classic Executive Director and Co-founder Carole Beswick.

The UCI event will include a minimum of 10 stages and one transfer day. Sea Otter Classic and Redlands Bicycle Classic will continue managing and running their additional activities and events individually. Sea Otter Classic will remain at the helm of its various MTB, women's road, amateur road, and festival activities, while Redlands Bicycle Classic will continue independently to own and run an elite women's stage race, amateur and public races, as well as fun rides.

A Coincidence?

In a rather spooky coincidence, a package from Elastoplast, the bandage people, arrived on our doorstep today. The editor, recovering from his recent mishap, promises to test the enclosed products...